Beneath the buzz of Silicon Beach and the steady hum of the entertainment-industrial complex, a new school of Los Angeles entrepreneurs have quietly developed a burgeoning edtech scene, addressing challenges in e-learning, tutoring, data analytics, and much more. Here are some LA-area edtech companies — some old, some new — that will cast their influence on a new generation of students.
Notable LA Edtech Companies
- InStride
- GoGuardian
- 12Twenty
- General Assembly
- Engrade
- Illuminate Education
HopSkipDrive specializes in technology for school transportation with an emphasis on prioritizing safe and dependable solutions. The company connects schools, districts and counties with a network of vetted CareDrivers who can transport small groups of children as an alternative to buses. It also provides clients with software and advisory services to help them overcome their transportation challenges.
Partnering with leading global academic institutions, InStride enables employers to offer career-boosting educational opportunities to their employees. Considering the majority of CEOs and CHROs are dissatisfied with tuition assistance and corporate-sponsored training programs, the company aims to deliver better educational solutions that drive desired business results. As a social impact company, InStride is dedicated to enabling enterprises and their people to continually advance through education.
GoGuardian's Chromebook-based management software helps students have a safer, less distracting learning experience as they use the web in the classroom. Embraced by more and more educators as an essential learning tool, the web is no longer an odious distraction in the classroom. GoGuardian helps teachers and administrators incorporate technology into their lesson plans, while also providing a suite of software that ensures students stay safe and productive.
12Twenty creates management solutions for university career centers. Their platform provides data and analytics while managing everyday career center needs and employer-student relationships. Many prominent institutions use 12Twenty including Columbia University, TCU, Indiana University, Dartmouth and UCLA.
Learning should be a lifelong pursuit, and Jumpcut makes continuing education easy and accessible. Their online courses focus on entrepreneurship for the digital age, with an ever-expanding catalogue of offerings for expanding one’s business skills. For those who may have last set foot in a classroom 40 years ago, Jumpcut is a breath of fresh air.
Glendale-based Age of Learning's flagship product is ABCmouse.com, an online learning resource for children ages 2-7. It employs a team of seasoned education researchers and takes a results-based approach to language, mathematics, social studies, and more. Education is collaboration, and ABCmouse brings teachers, parents, and communities into the mix. It's award-winning curriculum can be found in libraries, community centers, and on smartphones and tablets.
Engrade was launched in 2003 by an ambitious high schooler who wanted a better means of connecting with teachers on homework assignments and grades. Since then, it has incorporated user feedback, steadily expanding to become one of Southern California's most successful edtech mainstays. McGraw-Hill acquired Engrade in 2014, a sure sign that even the most established titans of education are heeding the innovations of tech-savvy students and entrepreneurs.
What started in New York as another coding bootcamp has now established full-service technology schools around the world, including three branches in Los Angeles. General Assembly courses now include not just web development, but design, marketing, product management, big data, and much more. GA may have started on the East Coast, but it has become a fixture in Southern California. Its influence on the Los Angeles startup scene extends far beyond students and alumni. GA hosts hugely popular events on almost every topic relevant to the tech space, and has deeply ingratiated itself with the community. Its opportunity fund allows those from disadvantaged backgrounds a chance to take classes and join its powerful network.
Billing itself as "not unlike shop classes which used to be available to all in public schools," the downtown nonprofit LA Makerspace is a community-based DIY workshop that teaches disadvantaged youth an array of skills under the rubric of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). Coding skills aren't a magic bullet. To rise above tough circumstances, kids also need to learn how to be fully engaged citizens. LA Makerspace sets itself apart with a more holistic approach that teaches students to think like librarians, learn a wide range of skills, and give back to their community on another level.
Irvine-based Illuminate Education builds a range of products that allow schools to collect, measure, and analyze student data. Teachers have long warned students of the ominous power of the "permanent record," knowing that it was probably locked in a file cabinet somewhere. Now the permanent record has gone digital, and is more robust than was previously thought possible. It's nothing to fear, however, as Illuminate assures us that every data point is used to help facilitate student achievement.
With BrainRush, legendary Atari founder Nolan Bushnell channels his gaming expertise into education. The company creates adaptive learning games that teach geography, chemistry, Greek mythology, and even the proper use of commas. Video games grow more culturally relevant by the day, and they are certainly centerpieces of a lot of young lives. There is tremendous power in the gamification of essential learning skills, and the BrainRush team are uniquely well positioned to innovate in their coveted space.
Built by an ex-banker and an ex-teacher, and formerly known as SmartestK12, Formative helps teachers track their students' work in real time, measuring it against standards, and jumping in at moments of struggle, discouragement, and challenge. Aside from speeding up the teacher-student feedback cycle, Formative also aims to create a truly paperless classroom.
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